Where Darkness Lives (Guardians of Eternity #7.75)(5)

“You know what I think?” His voice was husky.

She could have broken his grip. He might be physically stronger, but she wasn’t helpless. Everyone knew there was nothing more dangerous than a pissed-off female Were.

Instead she met him glare for glare.

“I don’t care.”

“I think you’re scared.”

She stiffened, her eyes glowing with emerald fire.

“Let. Go.”

“You’re scared because you want me.”

She wanted to deny the truth of his words. He could read it on her exquisite face. But she wasn’t stupid. Even if he couldn’t feel her telltale shivers at his touch, or see the way her eyes dilated when they slid down his body, he could scent her arousal.

“I’ve wanted—and had—countless men over the years,” she informed him. “Big deal.”

He growled, his wolf not pleased at the thought of her with another lover.

“You’ve never had a man like me—” he started to assure her, abruptly freezing as he caught the flicker of light out of the corner of his eye. A scope reflecting in the sunlight. “Mierda.”

Acting on pure reflex, Luc shoved Sophia to the ground and landed on top of her, covering her with his larger body.

She cursed, but before she could try to throw him off, the sound of a gunshot echoed through the room, followed by an explosion of splintering glass.

Luc remained motionless, waiting for another shot. When nothing happened, he at last pulled back to run a searching gaze over Sophia’s pale face.

“Are you hurt?” he growled.

She gave a shake of her head. “No.”

“Good.” With one fluid motion he was on his feet and sprinting to leap through the broken window. “Stay here.”

CHAPTER 2

Stay here.

The damned Were was delusional if he thought he could order her around like a pet dog, Sophia told herself, swiftly rising to her feet and following him through the shattered window.

Okay, he’d saved her life. And while it annoyed the hell out of her that she’d needed his protection, she was willing to offer her gratitude.

But that didn’t mean he was going to go around snapping out commands and expecting her to obey.

Some bastard had just tried to kill her and she was going to find who the hell it was.

Then she was going to rip out their heart and feed it to the vultures.

Or at least that was the plan.

Managing to get through the window without slicing open a major artery, Sophia paused as she realized that Luc had already crossed the street and entered the three-storied brick office building.

Holy shit, he was fast.

And wicked strong.

And so gloriously, spectacularly male that he made her ache in all the right places.

Which, of course, was why she was so twitchy when he was near. And why she was so reluctant to hire him as her bodyguard.

Even if she would rather bite off her tongue than admit it.

Realizing that the gunshot had already attracted unwelcome attention, Sophia forced herself to walk at a steady pace across the street and into the building where the shooter must have taken aim at her. Humans were always so easily spooked. A few gunshots, even when they weren’t the target, and they were ready to panic.

It made her long to shift and really give them something to fear.

Muttering beneath her breath at the realization that her attacker could be halfway to St. Louis by now, she pulled open the glass door and entered the empty lobby.

Cautiously she sniffed the air, catching Luc’s enticing scent that blended with the humans that filled the building. But there was no hint of another demon in the area.

Could it have been a mortal who had taken a shot at her?

Puzzled, Sophia ignored the bank of elevators and pulled open the door to the stairwell. She hesitated only long enough to make certain nothing was lurking in the shadows before moving up the metal steps tucked against the wall.

She had only a second of warning before Luc was vaulting from the top floor to land directly before her.

Show-off, she silently muttered, even as her blood stirred at the grace of his movements and the power of his male body.

Then, reluctantly lifting her gaze from the impressive width of his shoulders, she met his burning black glare.

“What part of ‘stay here’ don’t you understand?” he snapped, his voice pitched to ensure it wouldn’t echo.

She slapped her hands onto her hips. “I’m the boss here and I don’t take orders from you.” Her expression hardened. “Or anyone.”

“Surprise me,” he muttered.

“What?”

“It’s my job to protect you,” he growled, stepping so close that his heat seared over her skin. “And if that means giving you orders then you’ll obey them. Got it?”

“Why you ...”

Brushing past him, she headed up the stairs. She bypassed the second floor, knowing from the angle of the bullet currently lodged in her desk that it must have been fired from the third floor. Personally she preferred her kills to be up close and personal, but she was a trained marksman.

Continuing upward, she sensed Luc directly behind her.

Hell, she more than sensed him. The pinpricks of his anger were biting into her skin, warning that his wolf was prowling close to the surface.